So now, what show’s up in the Application Name column of profiler is OurFancyApplication

Application Name is not a compulsory attribute in the connection string – so you can choose to leave it out, but if you do profiler will just display a generic value – .NET sqlClient Data Provider – in the Application Name column

Having the Application Name show the correct name of you app, is a big help to the DBA, especially when they are looking at a busy server, attempting to track down a troublesome connection.

So, if you’re a developer, please be kind to your DBA and include the Application Name attribute in you connection string.

In case anybody is looking for more information / examples about connection string, just look here.